Brighton Horrorfest Returns For Second Spooky Year

Following a successful festival last year, Brighton Horrorfest is returning to Sweet Venues for 2017, with even more frights for the nights leading up to Halloween.

Theatrical hits from Brighton and Edinburgh Fringes will be performed, including Father of Lies (based on a true story about a mysterious unsolved murder from 1973 in West Germany), which garnered four and five star reviews at Edinburgh Fringe this year. Local company The Other Realm will also be revisiting their production of HP Lovecraft's Pickman's Model, and séance show Talking to the Dead also returns following success at Brighton Fringe.

Local puppetry favourites Barely Human Puppets will also be making an appearance with The Sorrowful Tale of Sleeping Sidney, a macabre puppet show, not for the faint-hearted! If you're after something for the whole family during the October half term holidays, there's also a Spooky Tales Puppetry Workshop, aimed at kids aged 3-9 to make their own puppets and create stories with them, plus various other events which are suitable for older children and teenagers.

Other highlights include The Mysterious Tales of Poe, revealed through extraordinary magic by the mischievous Ava Beaux, and The Other1% : What is a Ghost?, a genuine tale of unexplained paranormal footage, by TBC Audio, who recently premiered their production Protect & Survive at Brighton Fringe.

There's also storytelling in abundance from Cast Iron Theatre and Jason Buck, as well as a live podcast recording, a new interactive choose-your-own-adventure show from the team behind Decide-A-Quest, virtual murder 'tours', and even horror-themed roleplaying games with the Adventurers Wanted: Plague season, following their mammoth record-breaking 250-hour Dungeons and Dragons game at Edinburgh Fringe.

Artistic Director, JD Henshaw, said, "It is brilliant to bring back Brighton HorrorFest for its second year, with more chills and frights than before! This October we're bringing all forms of horror to the stage, with the addition of some great family offerings, after all, it shouldn't just be the adults who are allowed some spooky goings on at the festival. We couldn't be happier to bring so much excellent work to the diverse cultural scene of Brighton, broadening the amazing festival scene throughout the year."

Brighton Horrorfest runs 17th-29th October at Sweet Dukebox, The Southern Belle, 3 Waterloo Street, Hove, BN3 1AQ, and opposite the pub at Sweet St Andrews. For more info and tickets, visit www.sweetvenues.com.

BRIGHTON HORRORFEST EVENT LISTINGS:

(all events are strictly 18+ unless otherwise stated)

Tue 17th - Brighton HorrorFest launch party - 8pm (3hr), Free entry - Come one, come all, join us for a drink or two and some entertainment and find out about what we've got up our sleeves for the festival - costumes encouraged!

Wed 18th - Decide-A-Quest: Horrorfest! - 7pm (1hr), £5 (or Pay What You Want at the end) (suitable for ages 14+) - The audience take the driving seat in this hilarious (and horrifying!) choose-your-own-adventure style live show.

Thu 19th - Cast Iron Dukeanory: Ugly Tales for Beautiful Souls - 8pm (1hr), £8 - Spooky storytelling from our resident drama group.

Fri 20th - Adventurers Wanted - Plague: Invasion of the Brood - 7pm (4hr), £10 (or £35 for the full season) - The first in our season of horror-themed role-playing games... will they survive the plague...?

Fri 20th & Sun 22nd - The Other 1% : What is a Ghost? - 7.30pm (1hr), £8 (£6) - Part one of a series of ghost-themed events to take place across Brighton HorrorFest, Hove Grown, and Brighton Fringe, with genuine unexplained paranormal footage.

Fri 20th & Sat 21st - Pickman's Model - 9pm (40mins), £8 (£6) - The return of this stage adaptation of HP Lovecraft's short story about a troubled artist.

Fri 20th & Fri 27th - Talking to the Dead - 10.30pm (1hr), £12 - Can we communicate with the dead? Magicians Griffin and Jones intend to find out. Sceptics and believers welcome.

Sat 21st - Adventurers Wanted - Plague: Infestation - 7pm (4hr), £10 (or £35 for the full season) - The second in our season of horror-themed role-playing games - no need to have seen part one to enjoy part two!

Sat 21st - The Cast Iron Theatre Podcast: Horrorfest Live! - 7.30pm (1hr), £5 - Join us for the live recording of this podcast about local theatre events, featuring special guests from across the festival.

Sun 22nd - Spooky Sussex - 4pm (1.5hr), £6.50 (suitable for ages 12+) - Spooky stories from the local area, brought to you by Nick Richmond of Guided Tours in Brighton and Sussex.

Mon 23rd - Spooky Tales Puppetry Workshop - 1.30pm (2hr), £12 per child or £20 for two children (suitable for ages 3-9) - Bring the family for some half term fun - make your own ghoulish puppet and then use it to tell a scary story!

Mon 23rd - Stories from the Woods and Wild Places - 4pm (1.5hr), Advance tickets £8 (£6.50 concessions), On the door £10 (£7 concessions) (suitable for ages 9+) - Scary stories for all the family, from renowned storyteller Jason Buck.

Mon 23rd - Lost Souls and the Hungry Dead - 7.30pm (2hr), Advance tickets £8 (£6.50 concessions), On the door £10 (£7 concessions) - More scary stories from Jason Buck, this time leave the kids at home as he delves into the darker depths...

Tue 24th & Sun 29th - Father of Lies - 8pm (50mins), £8 (£6) (suitable for ages 15+) - 5-star theatre production about a mysterious unsolved murder in West Germany in 1973...

Wed 25th & Thu 26th - The Sorrowful Tale of Sleeping Sidney - 8pm (1hr 10m), £10 (£8) - Macabre puppetry show from local favourites Barely Human Puppets

Fri 27th - Adventurers Wanted - Plague: House on the Hill - 7pm (4hr), £10 (or £35 for the full season) - The third in our season of horror-themed role-playing games (no need to have seen the first two!)

Fri 27th - Ava Beaux: The Mysterious Tales of Poe - 8pm (1hr), £8 (£6) - Stories from Edgar Allen Poe revealed through magic as you've never seen them before...

Sat 28th - Adventurers Wanted - Plague: Resurrection - 7pm (4hr), £10 (or £35 for the full season) - The fourth and final of our season of horror-themed role-playing games... will the plague destroy them all?

Sun 29th - One Woman 'Alien' - 6.30pm (1hr), £5 - Cast Iron Theatre present a work-in-progress of their inspired take on the classic Ridley Scott movie

Sun 29th - Brighton After Dark: The Murder Tour - 8pm (2hr), £6.50 - Nick Richmond returns with his ever-popular indoor virtual murder tour - book early, this will sell out!

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